# CVE-2021-4331: Privilege escalation in The Plus Addons for Elementor Page Builder Pro

> Authenticated contributors can escalate privileges to administrator by manipulating the default registration role setting in the Elementor page builder.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 7 Mar 2023
- **Updated:** 8 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-427x-39vq-ch44

## What is CVE-2021-4331?

CVE-2021-4331 is a high-severity vulnerability in posimyththemes The Plus Addons for Elementor Page Builder Pro, published on 7 Mar 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Plus Addons for Elementor plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation in versions up to, and including 4.1.9 (pro) and 2.0.6 (free). The plugin adds a registration form to the Elementor page builders functionality. As part of the registration form, users can choose which role to set as the default for users upon registration. This field is not hidden for lower-level users so any user with access to the Elementor page builder, such as contributors, can set the default role to administrator. Since contributors can not publish posts, only author+ users can elevate privileges without interaction via a site administrator (to approve a post).

Weakness: CWE-862 (Missing Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-4331?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Posimyth the Plus Addons for Elementor.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-4331?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-4331 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-4331 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-4331 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in posimyththemes The Plus Addons for Elementor Page Builder Pro

- [CVE-2021-24949](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24949/): The Plus Addons for Elementor Pro < 5.0.7 - Unauthenticated SQL Injection (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-24175](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24175/): The Plus Addons for Elementor Page Builder < 4.1.7 - Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2024-5455](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-5455/): Path traversal in The Plus Addons for Elementor Page Builder Pro (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-47178](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-47178/): WordPress The Plus Addons for Elementor Pro plugin <= 5.2.8 - Unauthenticated Local File Inclusion vulnerability (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2021-24948](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24948/): The Plus Addons for Elementor Pro < 5.0.7 - Sensitive Data Disclosure (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-4331 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-4331 is a high-severity vulnerability in posimyththemes The Plus Addons for Elementor Page Builder Pro, published on 7 Mar 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-4331 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: posimyththemes The Plus Addons for Elementor Page Builder Pro. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-4331/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-4331/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-4331
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-4331
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-4331

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-4331/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.